Tablets, Thin Clients and Web Pads

I've been waiting for an electronic "book" since I was a kid. Next year there will be many choices and I am more than ready. I love to read, watch video and listen to music and one of these devices is going to get it right, allowing users to do all this in a thin comfortable package. Below are the devices that I know about, but I am sure there are other secret projects happening as we speak.

The video above is the first peek at the Time, Inc. secret "Manhattan Project" which is actually a digital tablet magazine. It looks very promising. See another video demo here.

Of course there is the Amazon Kindle which is really cool, but it's black and white and has no multimedia capabilities. The Barnes & Noble Nook seems OK and has a small capacitive touch screen, but doesn't feel to me like a cohesive unit.

Microsoft's secret tablet: Courier. It's not a tablet, it's a "booklet".

Google has two operating systems (which will one day merge I'm sure) and companies are developing devices for these platforms. Take a look at some of these Android tablets. Also, The New York Times has a recent review of the eDGe by enTourage Systems: "Devices to Take Textbooks Beyond Text". T-Mobile has also announced a tablet which will run on Android.

There are tons of hints about an Apple iPad, but for now it remains a rumor. I know it will happen...but when?


Michael Arrington and TechCrunch have been working on the CrunchPad and it is very promising. However, there was some business upheaval this week so the future of the project is uncertain.

The Litl Computer by John Chuang of Aquent is an interesting approach with no OS. It is somewhere between a notebook and a tablet. It's "easel mode" is intended to make reading and browsing easier.

Will one of these devices become the break-away leader? Will they all grab part of the market? Or is there something else being developed out there in a garage that will soon blow our minds? Whatever happens, I'm ready to create content for it...that's when the real fun begins.